Let Go
by divenire
Summary: He, emotionless and calculating, left his small hometown to escape his past. 10 years later, he returns. She, bright and bubbly, slightly crazy, and definitely annoying, gets a little too deep under his skin and teaches him what it means to let go and truly live. SasuSaku. Mod!AU.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

"Passengers, this is your captain speaking. We will be landing in Konohagakure no Sato momentarily. Please fasten seatbelts and return trays to their upright positions. Thank you for flying with us; we hope you enjoy your stay in this city."

The intercom sizzled to stillness. 24-year-old Uchiha Sasuke shifted his gaze away from the airplane window and absentmindedly stirred his travel-sized coffee. That is, if you could _call_ it coffee. It was more like lukewarm, bitter, watery, nasty-tasting crap. Sasuke chuckled ruefully, recalling the preceding conversation he had with the airplane stewardess who had attended to him. She really was an idiot.

* * *

_"__Excuse me, miss. Could I have a cup of coffee? Black."_

_She doesn't listen._

_Sasuke sighed and repeats, "Miss, could I get a black coffee?"_

_She still doesn't listen._

_ "__Um, could I also packet of raw sugar? And a stirrer."_

_She hands him the sugar. "What else can I get for you?"_

_ "__A cup of coffee—black—and a coffee stirrer. As also mentioned earlier."_

_She retrieves the coffee stirrer._

_ "__Okay, stirrer. Anything else?"_

_ "__Black coffee…as previously requested."_

* * *

Sasuke was brought out of his perturbed musings of how outrageous people in this world could be when he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve.

"Nii-san?"

_Nii-san. _The word was vague, yet painstakingly familiar. Sasuke felt a stinging pain somewhere deep in the region of his chest.

"Nii-san, the lady is here to take your trash."

Sasuke's eyes fell upon a young child sitting on the seat to the right of him. He hadn't noticed him there at all. Since when did a little boy sit next to him…? The child smiled sweetly, offering to pass his coffee cup to the same idiotic stewardess who had arrived earlier at their row.

"Thanks."

The boy grinned again, and handed the lady Sasuke's coffee. She glanced down and saw it filled to the rim.

"Didn't fit your taste?" she inquired.

"Hn."

The plane halted to a stop. Sasuke stepped out to the aisle and retrieved his luggage from the overhead compartment, brushing the flustered stewardess away. He shuffled down the crowded aisle, nodded his head in acknowledgement to the pilot who was waving farewell, and headed towards the terminal.

His mind spun at the words he had heard earlier. _Nii-san..._how long had it been since he was associated with that word? Sasuke vigorously shook his head, as if to erase the memory from him.

"I'm going crazy…" he mumbled to himself. Bystanders who heard his voice stared at him in puzzlement. Sasuke took no notice. He lifted his bag onto his shoulder, and quickly walked to the nearest exit. Colors blurred, faces faded, and he saw the world in black and white.

_Nii-san…_

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**A/N:** Long-time lurker, first-time writer. Please read and review. Or not, you know, but feedback would be greatly appreciated and helpful to a noobie like me. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 1

Ten years and seven months. It had been over a decade since Sasuke had last stepped foot in Konoha. He could still remember the day he left—a day dreams were murdered, naïve, innocent eyes disillusioned. Too often had he tried to forget the memories, but they had stuck to him nonetheless, the pain carved too deeply inside his heart, turning him into an stoic, emotionless young adult.

"_Damn it,"_ Sasuke thought. _"I'm overthinking again." _He forced himself to push the thoughts away, and ran his fingers through his long ebony hair.

"First time visiting Konoha, boy?" asked the clerk at the car rental kiosk.

He shook his head. "No, I used to live here."

The clerk continued. "Ah, great city, that's for sure. We've got something special for everyone—good food, decent weather the right time of the year, public bathhouses are the best around. Not to mention the girls here are really hot. You got a girl yourself?"

"No."

"Ah, shame. I'd expect you to have been through many girls already, with looks like yours. You should settle down and get a nice girl. I get plenty of nice girls around here, and they leave in the morning, ya' know? That's a nice girl right there." He chuckled to himself. Sasuke took an instant dislike to the man before him.

"Ah, sign here please."

The clerk indicated the dashed line on the paper in front of Sasuke.

"So what are you here for anyway, if not for vacation?"

Sasuke's upper lip twitched and replied rather curtly. "…My brother died."

The clerk stood startled for a second, and then shut up, after undergoing several muscular affections of the limbs, with some embarrassment.

"Sorry." He handed Sasuke the car keys. "You, enjoy your stay, alright?" Sasuke took the keys and left, raising his right hand in acknowledgement to the clerk. Some people really knew how to push his buttons.

* * *

It was a grey, rainy day in an even greyer town. Silhouettes of derelict buildings loomed in the distance, as seen through the vaporous windshield. Although it had been 10 years, Sasuke still remembered Konoha as if he had lived here his whole life. Every street, every corner, every house was entrenched in his brain. _"Just come here, sign some papers, attend the funeral, and go home. You don't have to say hi to anyone, you don't have to remind yourself of the past anymore than you already have to." _He glanced at the time on the dashboard. 3:55. Half an hour to kill before he had to go meet with Kakashi at the law firm. Sasuke pulled his car into the parking lot of a local café and got out. He was about to turn the corner to the entrance of the café when he heard a voice.

"Ne, Hinata-chan, how about a date with me tonight? We can go watch a show or something, maybe get some ramen! Ne, Hinata?"

Sasuke froze. That obnoxiously desperate voice. The silence that followed his pleas, then a couple of incoherent sentences mumbled by a noticeably shy female.

"_Damn it, already? How likely is it to run into him already? I haven't even been back in the village for half an hour!" _Sasuke turned to go back to his car, but he was too late. The person had rounded the corner already, walked straight into Sasuke, and stumbled down to the concrete sidewalk.

"Watch where you're going, you bastard!" huffed the boy, obviously upset at his wonderful timing of tripping while asking a woman on a date.

"Your fault, you were the one that turned the corner, dobe."

The boy stood up and dusted off his pants. He was about to retort a comeback when his eyes locked with Sasuke's. The impassive look on his face, onyx black eyes, unruly hair. Lips drawn to a thin line, hands stuffed deep inside his pockets.

"Sa…Sasuke?" the boy answered, wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open.

"Naruto." Sasuke replied tersely. He nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"SASUKE!" In an instant, Naruto discarded his dignity before Hinata and suddenly threw his arms around Sasuke.

"Where have you been, man?! We haven't seen you in _years_!"

"Naruto…" Sasuke gasped, taken aback by the sudden outburst of his companion. "Get…off me…I can't breathe." Sasuke peeled the ecstatic man away from his body.

"Dude, _seriously!_ Why are you back here? It's been what, ten years? Ne, Hinata! Hinata! Look! It's that Sasuke-teme again, remember? We used to play ninjas and princesses when we were little!" Naruto laughed at the fond memories.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun." Hinata pointed her fingers together shyly and looked down at the ground. Her face immediately turned a bright shade of red. Sasuke said hi and turned away to avoid further embarrassment of the Hyuuga.

"You still haven't answered my question, Sasuke! What are you doing here? When did you come back? Are you staying here for good? Do you have a place to stay?" Naruto pestered.

"Geez Naruto, do you have to be so loud? The whole town probably knows I'm back already…my ears are bleeding from your noise."

"…Way to be rude to an old friend…" Naruto muttered. "Okay, but really. What are you doing back here?"

"…Brother's funeral." Sasuke was quickly becoming irritated at the nosy people in Konoha. How many more times would he have to mention it?

"Oh…sorry dude. I heard about that. Where you headed?"

Sasuke jerked his thumb back to the café. "I was going to get a coffee, then go to the law firm. Got some papers to sign, you know, personal business."

The last thing Sasuke wanted was to mingle with Naruto again. Sure, it had been ten years and Naruto had been his best friend in his childhood, but given the current situation, talking to an intolerable idiot was far from his mind. He turned his heel to return to his car.

"…Oi, Sasuke! You free tonight? Hinata and I and some other people, we're going out to dinner, you should come along. You know, catch up on some things and all." Sasuke turned his head.

"Can't. Busy."

He stepped into the car and drove away before Naruto could open his mouth again.


	3. Chapter 2

"Sasuke-san, Kakashi will be with you shortly. Please, make yourself comfortable." The receptionist made a gesture with her hand, inviting him to sit down.

Sasuke idly thumbed through the delicate pages of a business magazine, failing to find anything to spark his interests. Knowing Kakashi, an old family friend, 'be with you shortly' was a huge overstatement. Sasuke estimated for him to arrive at least an hour late. _Damn Kakashi, I didn't have any reason to rush here so quickly. _His eyes scanned the perimeter of the reception room. Empty. The secretary had retreated to the back room. Sasuke was grateful for the moment of peace and quiet. He set the magazine aside and leaned back in his chair, eager to get some well-deserved shuteye. It had been a hectic day.

The door opened and Sasuke felt a cold gust of wind hit his face.

"Ohayo, Kasumi-chan! Has Ino clocked out yet?"

"Hi, Sakura," called the secretary. "No, her shift ends in twenty minutes. Feel free to wait around, I'll tell her you've arrived."

Sasuke cracked one eye open to see the source of his headache. A girl with bubblegum pink hair had flounced into the office, chattering happily with Kasumi. Sasuke eyed her critically. Who the hell had pink hair? She had it tied up into a messy ponytail, and her simple grey zip-up hoodie, jeans, and converses showed that she was a conservative dresser.

The girl's sight suddenly fixed on Sasuke, who was still studying her. He noticed this, and quickly ducked his head away. Grinning, the girl walked over to Sasuke and casually plopped herself down on the empty seat next to him.

"Hey, are you new to Konoha? I've never seen _you _around before." She gave him an accusatory look.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, I used to live here. Just came back for a visit."

"Ah," the girl remarked knowingly. "I'm waiting for a friend."

"I heard."

"What are you here for?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. The girl suddenly realized her mistake, and her cheeks tinged with pink.

"Oh my god, I'm…I'm so sorry, that was terribly, terribly nosy of me. Ah, just ignore what I said. Sometimes I'll say things without it processing through my brain; I get myself in trouble a lot because of it."

She sunk down low into her chair and looked away, her right hand supporting her forehead. Sasuke was taken aback by the sudden apology of this stranger.

"Don't worry about it." Sasuke replied tersely. "Oh, and don't do that…" he gestured with his hand at her face. "You look cute when your face matches your hair."

The girl drew in a sharp breath, knowing full well that his comment was not meant to be a compliment. Her brows furrowed, lips turned downwards, and arms crossed, pretending to be offended. She huffed loudly. Sasuke took no notice. He became mildly interested again in the same magazine.

Minutes ticked by in awkward silence. The girl opened her mouth again.

"Do you know what time it is?"

Sasuke grunted. "The clock is on the wall to your left."

"Oh, I know, but…the numbers…they're too small. I can't read them. You see, I'm near-sighted, and I forgot my glasses."

He scoffed lightly and was about to release the requested information to her but something glimmering on her wrist caught his eye, hidden partially by her jacket leave. A clasp, a silver band…and the unmistakable face of a clock.

"You have a watch!" Sasuke observed incredulously. The nerve of the girl!

She flinched. "Oh, that old thing? It doesn't work. It's just for decoration…hey!"

Sasuke grabbed her wrist and pulled it closer to him. He narrowed his eyes and inspected the face. "I can see it moving and…" He leaned downwards and tilted his head. "…hear it ticking."

"Oh, um…wow! You must be a technopath! You see, it wasn't working when I put it on this morning. Actually, it hasn't been working for weeks. I only wear it in hopes that, you know, some nice guy will come along, fix it for me, and magically, it'll start working again!" She nervously laughed.

Sasuke realized he was holding her hand the entire time. He grunted disdainfully and threw her hand away from him. He couldn't believe the girl. She was immature, childish, and annoying. The girl, still smiling at him, massaged her wrist. Sasuke started to loathe her smile. It was too white, too pearly, and too straight.

"So," the girl continued, trying to spark up conversation. "How long are you staying here for?"

Luckily, Kasumi appeared around the counter again, saving Sasuke from conversing with the girl. He was extremely close in giving her a crude verbal remark. "Uchiha Sasuke, Kakashi-san has arrived. Sorry for the wait."

Sasuke stood up and dusted his jeans off. "Nice to meet you." he muttered somewhat sarcastically, more at the wall than at the girl.

The girl stood up beside him. "You haven't." she stated simply. "I'm Sakura." She stuck her hand out.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and studied her face, then hesitatingly took her hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Uchiha Sasuke." He nodded.

The girl flashed a smile again, and Sasuke disappeared behind the door. He found a tall, familiar, grey-haired man, holding a briefcase.

"Ah, Sasuke." He said in a composed voice. "Long time no see. That girl out there, you know her?"

Sasuke pursed his lips.

"…no."

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A/N: Reviews are appreciated, as always. It's a teensy bit nerve-wracking to finally post something I've written on the world wide web! Eeeee!


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